Mint hired a record 26 youth artists for the Mint Creative Summer Jobs program in 2024. They came from diverse backgrounds and cultures and brought varied skills and perspectives to Mint. Below we share a sliver of some of their stories, and we plan to add others soon.
Rukaya Altiwainy – A first-year Mint Artists, Rukaya also is a jewelry-maker who attends Wayne State University. She created a magical oil painting for her final project in the Mint Summer Jobs.
Rheinne Barrett – This Cass Tech student made a very creative triptych paintings with poetry as her final project in the Mint Summer Jobs.
Abd Alrahman Bazzari – A first-year Mint Artists, Abd adores mosaics and printmaking. His beautiful orchids print made in the summer is a beauty.
Ryn Benning – A first-year Mint Artist and assistant leader, Ryn won an Awesome Ann Arbor microgrant for Mint while she served as our spring Mintern. She graduated from the School at Marygrove and attends CCS.
Moumita Chawdhury – As a team leader, Moumita dove into mosaics. But her painting skills are superb and her wonderful Detroit scenes grace two Mint art cards showing Corktown and Belle Isle. She attends Wayne State University, where she plans to major in computer science.
Sekayi Coumarbatch – A first-year artist with Mint, Sekayi helped out so much and also became an expert mosaic maker with us. He is a recent Wayne State University graduate.
Jin N. Drake – Jin joined Mint as an adjunct in the Mint Summer Jobs and then the Learn & Earn program. She attends CCS. Her Paint Detroit with Generosity piece is our marquee image.
Jessica Fligger – In her years with Mint, team leader Jessica has become an accomplished printmaker. So she teaches print making to our youth artists, and created some wonderful cat prints herself. Her paintings also are quirky and inspiring. A Cass Tech graduate, she attends the University of Michigan
Kyra’Clare Fuqua – Kyra joined Mint for the first time in 2024, and was a quiet member of the mixed media team. She attends Communications and Media Arts High School in Detroit.
Brizait Gonzalez – In her second summer with Mint, this Cass Technical High School student proudly painted a Generosity painting for Congress of Communities, where she volunteers.
Michael Hartman – This fourth-year Mint Artists summer worker served as an assistant leader. He’s known for his caring, creative approach to life.
Faith Jones-Honey – Faith started in the Mint Learn & Earn program while attending Cass Tech and sold plenty of her paintings. She now attends CCS, and worked as a Mint team leader this year. She led several painting training sessions in the Mint Summer Jobs.
Darion Hammons – Darion, in his first summer with Mint, was known for his speed in painting and his helpfulness in bringing out supplies and materials. He attends Denby High School.
Dana Hanson – A talented painter in her second year with Mint, Dana worked through Mint at Hubert Massey Murals. She attends Detroit School of Arts.
Dallas McCatty – Dallas started as a Mintern in the spring, focused on arts and crafts. In the summer, he worked through Mint at Hubert Massey Murals and also worked with Dana Hanson to create a beautiful Paint Detroit with Generosity painting. He attends University of Michigan.
Temple Rock – A first-year Mint Artists and one of our youngest artists this year, Temple previously was a winner of Mint’s Metro Detroit Youth Arts Competition. He attends Detroit School of Arts.
Saliha Shah – In her second summer with Mint, Saliha juggled her creative work with an internship at Rocket Mortgage. Her 2023 Mittens & Michigan Generosity painting, for Mittens for Detroit, is a spectacular Mint art card. Saliha also has been part of Mint’s Learn & Earn Group.
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